Here's a golden chance, quite literally, for Nitish Kumar to give a boost to tourism in Bihar.

The royal family of Thailand has offered to donate 100 kg gold to build a dome atop the Buddha temple it has constructed in Bodh Gaya.

But the chief minister is running scared of accepting this glittering gift, valued at `35 crore by the current market rate of gold. If tourism ministry sources are to be believed, Nitish is afraid that the temple with a golden dome will create a law and order problem in the holy town and that it would be difficult to guard the structure.

That's why, they claim, the Bihar government has been sitting on the proposal communicated to it by the Thai royal trust, managed by the Queen's office, almost five months ago.

"The state government has expressed its inability to provide adequate security to a temple having 100-kg gold plating on its top,'' a senior official said.

Patience running out

But the patience of the Thai royal trust and tourism authorities seems to be running out. Apparently unhappy with their experience of dealing with the state administration, they took their plea to expedite the matter to Union tourism minister K. Chiranjeevi.

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A team of Thai tourism officials and an Indian delegation met Chiranjeevi at the Bangkok airport on Wednesday during his brief stopover there on his way back to New Delhi from Laos after attending the ASEAN tourism ministers' conclave. He promised the Thai authorities all help.

When contacted, Chiranjeevi told Mail Today: "I have sought more details from the Indian mission in Bangkok. I have been requested to take up the matter with the state government to clear the proposal soon. I am going to talk to Nitishji and persuade him to expedite the matter."

The minister asserted that the royal gift would benefit Bihar and eventually India. It will not only enrich the temple town, but is also likely to make Bodh Gaya more popular among the tourists flocking to the Buddhist circuit, he added.

The
Bodh Gaya temple is important for Bihar's tourism

'Global publicity'

"One
cannot underestimate the instant global publicity it will give to Bodh
Gaya and to other Buddhist circuit spots in the state. It will also give
impetus to infrastructure development, including hotels and
connectivity modes, to attract more tourists from ASEAN countries," he
said.

Nitish could not
be unaware of all this. It's safe to presume that he pretty well
realises that the move will be a free publicity for state tourism, which
is in dire need of a lift. Despite that, his government has been
reluctant to acquiesce to the offer because of safety concerns.

Mail Today tried to contact the Bihar CM on Friday afternoon, but he was not available. This correspondent left his contact details for a response from his office, but there was none till late evening.

However, the central government officials cited the issue to put the Nitish government in dock over his claims of improved governance and law and order.

"If you can't provide security in a globally-acclaimed Buddhist circuit hotspot like Bodh Gaya, which is also the main revenue earner for Bihar's tourism department, then what is the assurance for other areas in the state?" an official asked.

Blame game

Interestingly, the tourism ministry babus also took a dig at their Bihar counterparts for the red-tape and blame game that typifies bureaucracy.

"There has been no response so far from the state to the Queen's trust. The government has blamed the authorities entrusted with granting permission, which include the temple trust in Bodh Gaya, which is managed by nominees of the state administration and Buddhist monks. The local babus, on their part, do not miss an opportunity to blame the Archaeological Survey of India and allege that it's the ASI that is putting roadblocks," a senior government official in New Delhi said.

Hygiene concerns

In Bangkok and Laos, Chiranjeevi also received other complaints from Buddhists, the most common being about the lack of basic facilities, such as toilets, on the Buddhist trail taken by tourists in India, particularly in Bihar, which mostly entails road journey in the state.

Left speechless

Senior ministry officials said Chiranjeevi was almost speechless when his Laos counterparts raised the issue of hygiene around the Buddhist holy sites in India. "We carry the Indian soil to our monasteries and keep it in our homes where we perform daily worship... and feel really sad to see people relieving themselves next to our temples,'' the Laos tourism minister is learnt to have told Chiranjeevi.